Judge won't unseal documents in Milwaukee archdiocesan bankruptcy case

The testimony of two retired Catholic bishops, who handled the Archdiocese of Milwaukee's child sex-abuse cases for more than two decades, will remain under court seal, at least for now, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Susan V. Kelley ruled Thursday.

In what some are calling an unprecedented decision, Kelley rejected a move by victims' attorneys to make public the depositions of Archbishop Rembert Weakland, Bishop Richard Sklba and a defrocked pedophile priest, saying they contain "scandalous material" and could potentially identify victims who've sought anonymity in the case.

"I won't take that risk," Kelley said, in giving the archdiocese a significant victory in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filed last year in an effort to deal with its mounting sex-abuse obligations.

An attorney for the archdiocese, who called the depositions an "enormous distraction," said the ruling allows it to return to the purpose of bankruptcy, which is essentially financial.

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